Former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick reportedly cancelled a Wednesday night event scheduled at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, after almost nobody showed up to hear him speak.
Although two people did come, according to CNN reporter Annie Grayer, Patrick cancelled the event after arriving and finding out that “he would not have an audience.”
Governor @DevalPatrick was supposed to have an event at Morehouse College tonight. An organizer with the college who planned the event told CNN that Patrick cancelled the event when he arrived and learned that he would not have an audience. (Note, two people came, not pictured) pic.twitter.com/CzNjWYcWKJ
— Annie Grayer (@AnnieGrayerCNN) November 21, 2019
ABCs Cheyenne Haslett also documented the “very empty room.”
This was the @DevalPatrick event at @Morehouse College right around the time we were told he was 2 minutes away. It was a very empty room. A few minutes later, after the students notified the campaign that there were only a few students there, he cancelled. pic.twitter.com/9T9rmbeI49
— Cheyenne Haslett (@cheyennehaslett) November 21, 2019
Ironically, New York Times politics reporter Astead Herndon tweeted that Patrick had just told the him after landing in Atlanta that he sensed “some openness” to his candidacy from Democratic primary voters. (RELATED: Here’s Who Obama Is Pushing To Run For President)
“What I’m sensing is not some openness to someone new, but an openness to me,” Patrick told me in a phone interview today. He had just landed in Atlanta and was headed to this event https://t.co/cfueI23Rd3
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) November 21, 2019
A Monday event in Nevada featuring 2020 Democratic presidential candidates was also met with little enthusiasm for Patrick.
The, er, crowd for @DevalPatrick tonight. pic.twitter.com/ecdht0PSGY
— Jennifer Medina (@jennymedina) November 18, 2019
Despite the rocky start, the former Bain Capital executive – who launched his presidential bid last Thursday – is expected to compete with former Vice President Joe Biden for more moderate Democratic voters turned off by the party’s left-wing. His entry into the race was too late to qualify for Wednesday night’s Democratic debate.